Knights of the Hill Country

ರ Many Knights of the Hill Country ⢋ Ebook Author Tim Tharp ⣶ CHAPTER ONEI done it I stopped time.Every single player on that football field locked up stiff as them wax figures they got over in the Pawtuska Wild West Wax Museum Made quite a picture, the stadium lights blazing overhead like fractured stars and the football froze slick and hard as a rocket against the night sky, our outside linebacker s fingers stretching just an inch too short to do a thing but let it fly over I had to admit it was a thing of pure beauty, that pass, even if it was the enemy quarterback that thrown it Tight spiral Perfect arc That boy had talent But, sorry to say, it wasn t going to be enough Not with me freezing time like I could.Course, time didn t really stop I didn t wave no magic wand or poof out a cloud of fairy dust or crank up some science fiction machine with spinning gears and flashing lights on it Thing was, I d focus so hard that I d squinch everything down so it seemed like time froze just long enough for me to look and see what I d have to do next That was my talent, the one and only thing I knew how to do better than anyone else around.I had me this math teacher one time back in junior high, Mr Moon, told me it was too bad they d passed them child labor laws cause I d do a lot good hauling coal up out of a mine twelve hours a day than I done wasting desk space in his classroom Big, redheaded dumb jock, that s all he seen, and he wasn t the only one probably neither But none of them folks knew what went on in my head Not one had the least idea who the real me was.The scene whirled back up to full speed, and over by the sideline, the ball snapped right into the Wynette receiver s hands Our little old Vietnamese cornerback, Tommy Nguyen, grabbed at the receiver s jersey, but he couldn t get ahold of it firm and spilled off to the side Poor Tommy That was bound to earn him a good chunk of grief at practice on Monday After that, number eighty eight tucked the ball under his arm, juked, and zigzagged into the open Had him twenty five yards of open pasture clean to the end zone, and I knew he was thinking surefire touchdown He was thinking, I m the hero now, buddy boy Nothing left but to figure out which way I m gonna spike the ball and dance around the goalpost.One problem Old eighty eight had no way of guessing I d done predicted every one of them moves before he even seen he was going to make them his own bad self I aimed at just the right angle to cut him off and charted my route so perfect, all your math geniuses with every protractor and compass in the world couldn t have mapped it out better His reputation as an all state sprinter didn t make an ounce of difference and neither did the fact that he d scored him something like a sixty yard touchdown in the game before this one I had me the perfect angle and just enough speed so that at the exact right moment, I launched through the air, a high powered torpedo straight on target, and bam I slammed into him broadside, both of us crashing hard into the ground, dirt flying up in my face and chalk dust stinging my nostrils.Getting up to my feet, I had just about every teammate of mine on the sideline slapping my back, telling me, Good tackle Attaboy, Hamp, you killed that sucker attaboy, attaboy, Hamp The stands flat out boomed with cheers But eighty eight, he was still laying on his back, this kind of stunned look glazing over his eyes behind his face mask He looked about like a lost little first grader down there I couldn t help but feel sorry for him He come so close to being the hero It was like he d tried on a new outfit and seen how good it looked and everything, and then someone come along and told him he had to put it back on the rack Poor guy I reached my hand down and he took it, and after helping him pull hisself up, I slapped him on the butt and sent him back off across the field.Big mistake.Hampton It was my buddy Blaine Keller barking at me He strictly plays offense, so he had his helmet off and his black hair was pasted to his forehead, the black slashes of war paint under his eyes starting to run some from the sweat Don t give your hand to the enemy like that This is a battle, son Don t ever give your hand to the enemy during a battle.He meant business too You could tell by the way the sparks flared up in his brown eyes He wasn t faking He was mad I jogged back to the defensive huddle, feeling like I d had the air half let out of me Tell you what, Coach Huff and his assistants was some of the best coaches in Oklahoma and I figured you might as well throw Texas in there too Everything about them was polished and sharp as a new pair of scissors their clothes, their hair, and their orders most of all But they was always distant, up on another level looking down Blaine was my best friend, my brother almost, and his words cut deeper than anyone else s.He was right, I thought That always was my shortcoming right there Too much sympathy It was like Blaine used to tell me, Feeling sorry for folks never won no football games.This wasn t any time to go weak neither This was a time a guy needed insides about as tough and gnarled and hard as one of them old blackjack oaks on the hills outside of town Me and the rest of the Kennisaw Knights had us eighteen yards and twenty seven inches of battleground to defend Three minutes and thirty four seconds left in the game First and ten Kennisaw 20 and the Wynette Titans 17.Every game this season, the pressure weighed down and It was like carrying around a sack full of rocks, only every time you got to thinking you could lay it down, someone would throw another sack full of bigger rocks up on top of you If we could keep it going, this would be Kennisaw s fifth undefeated season in a row For thirty some years, no Knights team had strung together that many wins, and them old time players from back then was still heroes around the hill country of eastern Oklahoma More than just heroes, they was flat out legends.Now, people love their legends in the hill country I don t just mean the ones that run up and down the green fields there in Biggins Stadium with its crown of golden lights neither I m talking about the old timey Wild West legends like the Doolins and the Daltons and Belle Starr, the queen of the outlaws All them famous characters in the wax museum And then you got your bull riders and bronc busters, your Five Civilized Tribes and your wildcat oil strikers Pretty Boy Floyd and Woody Guthrie, Will Rogers, Mickey Mantle, and the original great football player Jim Thorpe hisself Kennisaw s a dusty little old town, but even the smallest scrawny kid can feel big if he s got hisself a legend to hold on to.And believe you me, not a player on our team didn t think about what kind of legends we could end up being our own selves if we finished off this fifth straight season undefeated Boy howdy The Kennisaw Knights was the best damn football team in all the hill country, where Friday night high school football ranked next to God and country, and, truth be known, sometimes come in first It d be one hell of a big sack of rocks to carry around if you let the Knights down.Every mouth on the Kennisaw side of the stadium let loose a roar of Defense Defense Defense Taking my position there at middle linebacker, I could feel it rumbling through my chest and stomach, all the way out into my arms and legs It was almost like that crowd was creating me out of thin air right on the spot Outside the stands, the rest of the town would be as bare as a soup bone cause everyone was right here at the game, chanting up their spell Bankers and mechanics, dental hygienists, the glass plant gang, farmers, store clerks, and doctors Even Miss Nikomos, the dance school teacher Everyone.Almost.I knew my folks wasn t up there chanting Not a chance No telling where my dad was these days No telling who my mom was with tonight And Sara Reynolds girls like her didn t give a day old donut about football.For a second, my concentration flickered out on me Gone, just like that.A quick snap jarred me back into the game The quarterback was already wheeling to his left, shoving the ball into the tailback s belly, the tailback plunging towards the gap off tackle Only he didn t really have the ball The handoff was a fake, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker, charging the gap, leaving the middle of the field wide open for their split end Too late to stop time now My instincts took over instead I rolled off the block and cut back left, keeping my eye on nothing but the quarterback s throwing hand No doubt the end had made it to the opening I d left for him by now, but I still had one chance.As soon as that quarterback s arm sprung forward, I took flight up and sideways, stretching out my arm so far I thought it might pop right out of its socket Then I felt it the hard leather against my fingertips A second later, I skidded across the ground, my face mask plowing up grass, the ball bouncing end over end a few yards away Incomplete pass.Man alive, did them stands explode in cheers then But they wasn t yelling Defense, defense, defense any Now it was Hampton Hampton HamptonJEALOUSY, RAGE, AND tenderness are wrapped around the storys core theme of self discovery This intriguing work demands an audience Kirkus Reviews, StarredThe teens voice comes in loud and clear, revealing a sensitive, likeable character Readers will root as much for his team as for Hampton to be true to himself The dynamic football scenes will draw readers who enjoyed H G Bissingers Friday Night LightsSchool Library Journal King Arthur The Knights of the Round Table King s is a Website providing information on Arthurian Legend, Tradition and Literature Knights Templar Wikipedia Poor Fellow Soldiers Christ Temple Solomon Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici Hierosolymitanis Grand Encampment, Templar MMS CONTACT SUPPORT M SOLUTIONS UPDATES VISITORS UPDATED All Rights Reserved Grand The Table Arthur KKK Party Premier Voice of pleased that midterm election brought victory to White America Now, many may not consider it victory, but traditionally, UCFKnights UCF Athletics Official Athletics Site for Columbus Home Catholic based Fraternal Organization engaged in charity local global scope , Life Insurance, faith institutional investing Team Schedule Charlotte Schedule Calendar loading MiLB Terms Use Privacy Policy updated About Our Ads Intro Page Blue PA BLUE KNIGHTS non profit fraternal organization consisting active retired law enforcement men women who enjoy riding motorcycles Nordic knights Tornerspel i hgsta klass Ta ett stort kliv bakt tiden och flj med oss medeltiden Tnk dig bort till hrn av blomstrande kungadme, en plats som heter Trondia ✂ Download Kindle Edition [ ₒ Men In Black (Picturing History) ] For Free ̷ E-Pub Author John Harvey ᾥ Most Explicit site net Cum check out our scene previews below join instant access huge collection high quality FullThe Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp Despite fact also movie, I d heard neither book nor movie when randomly came across whilst looking new YA Badd Tharp Enter your mobile number or email address we ll send you link download free Kindle App Then can start reading books smartphone Tim Wonnacott Associates TV Experience first started appearing regularly television early BBC ANTIQUES ROADSHOW has remained regular Hammond Sports Hall Fame Inductees FRANK BLOCKER After legendary school football career at Hammond High during he went Purdue, where earned Big Ten Fleet Reserve Association Branch THE FLEET RESERVE ASSOCIATION FRA comprised sea services enlisted personnel, have served are now serving Navy, Marine Corps Coast Guard Search Results Minneapolis St Paul Business Search from Business Journal FBFP TOURNAMENT ROSTER DoBass complete listing all bass tournament participants dobass fbfp ohio tournaments Rodney E Watts West Harpeth Funeral Mr Rodney Watts, age Pegram, TN, passed peacefully this life into eternity March He leaves great legacy love his Tebow Night To Shine Ministry Celebrating Tebow program celebrates people with special needs Learn worldwide today Archived Video North Valley Baptist Church Watch archived video preaching Church Santa Clara, California Knights of the Hill Country